Kids Playing With Toy Guns

[meemiathai]

Don't let kids play with toyguns and swords. Don't even let them know they exist. Amputate their hands as well coz they for sure are going to play with their fists.

For me I'll buy my son a dildo to play with.

What kind of a world is it now? I was almost shocked to see the responses of this thread. I thought it was only the HK parents who are like that, but now it seems farangs are the same. Just how protective to kids people are nowadays!

What is the safe age for a person to see the real world? Should they even be allowed to go in to the streets? Will they see something they shouldn't see?

Sorry not mean to attack anyone but strongly disagreeing with this kind of mentality.

[lingling]

What age is the kid? If he is 5 or older, get him a bb gun and teach him how to use it. Teach him to never use it alone, to never point it at humans or animals etc but how to use it against "dead" targets. That way he will not be overly curious about weapons but will also know how to handle one properly when he comes across the real thing.

[kmart]

Metalwork classes at school were devoted to making throwing knives and Ninja stars. I made a beautiful shuriken once, until a dog ran off with it. Ok, it was stuck in its back at the time, but....

Kids like stuff like that. Its better than him playing with Barbie Dolls, no?

Hey, the emoticon at the end of the quote is for "unsure." I didn't play with dolls, and my folks let me play with various toys. It was after ww2, and they thought it was great that we had killed all those Nazis and Japanese for Jesus and FDR. As long as we're disagreeing (and my mod cap has been taken off), I'll suggest that it might be as much about social class as it is about fairies and bullies.

I was raised to be an upper middle class manager, not a manual laborer who goes down to the pub and gets drunk and fights with Paddy, Mick, and Cedric. Our local drunk was a banker and treasurer who drove home from the fancy pub very wobbly.

Those of you who think gay men are sissies who played with dolls should stay far away from a gay leather pub; you'll get well pummelled.

It's usually the lower class that actually gets to kill the Nazis and the Japanese, the VietCong and the Iraqis. It's the upper class that sit in board rooms and Oval Offices in three-piece suits, ordering the generals to order the soldiers into battle. It was the upper middle class who wore white collars and ties, that managed the extermination camps.

I was kidding, but I don't understand your response at all.

[Nikkijah]

meemiathai, I'm a young father, I come from the UK where parents really are quite careful about what their children play with, my friends son has never had a toy gun, not because he wasn't allowed one but because he didn't desire one, he had lots of toys but no need for a toy gun.

I didn't really want to go down this road but, Thailand is different, guns are accepted, toy guns are not even thought about, I don't mean to say that my boy will be running around with a real gun because he played with toy guns, my concern is much further reaching, much more widely spread, Thai society accepts guns(until a member of the family gets killed..perhaps) they are toys for the adults and are used like toys IMO, just read some stories about gun crime, real stories, and it is clear to see that guns are a part of life here, they are not a part of life in the UK, partly because we don't allow them to be and partly because we don't tolerate them, perhaps never have tolerated them and so have never had to eradicate them from our society.

Rant over, I hope I'm being understood

[TizMe]

I grew up with guns, both real and toys. With a few farmers in the family it was just seen as natural to have rifles around. As a teenager my brothers and I joined a small bore rifle club and participated in a lot of competitions.

The fatality rate in motor accidents in Thailand should be more of a concern than firearm fatalities.

[Thaiboxer]

"The fatality rate in motor accidents in Thailand should be more of a concern than firearm fatalities."

That's true and it's the same in the States where I'm from. It's fine if kids learn how to shoot and enjoy firearms under adult supervision until they're old enough to handle them on their own. I grew up with BB guns, had my first real gun at 16 and got some more later on. I used them at public ranges or way out in the wilds away from houses and people.

[Nikkijah]

The fatality rate in motor accidents in Thailand should be more of a concern than firearm fatalities.

It is an equal concern TizMe, thats the reson I only hail new taxis in the hope that they'll be better treated by the monster truck that ploughs over the top of it(see my recent post regarding taxis...)

It is a whole new topic whether or not we should own guns and how responsible we are with them because we are now living in Thailand, most of us anyway, and it IS completely different to any of us using rifles on the range or out in the bush or wherever.

I don't want to start getting all xenophobic but things ARE different here!

[opothai]

first gun was a johnny 7, any one remember them,

then about 12 years old a few of us had 177 or 22 pelett guns, we used to see the local farmer and go shooting rabbits and rats, good for the farm and good for us as we wetre outside and learning.

not one of us ended up shooting any one yet??

[opothai]

first gun was a johnny 7, any one remember them,

then about 12 years old a few of us had 177 or 22 pelett guns, we used to see the local farmer and go shooting rabbits and rats, good for the farm and good for us as we wetre outside and learning.

not one of us ended up shooting any one yet??

[Nikkijah]

first gun was a johnny 7, any one remember them,

then about 12 years old a few of us had 177 or 22 pelett guns, we used to see the local farmer and go shooting rabbits and rats, good for the farm and good for us as we wetre outside and learning.

not one of us ended up shooting any one yet??

This is getting taken a bit far, we don't really need anyone else telling us about them shooting guns as children and not growing up to be psychos because we now live in a completley different society IMO

Although some of you may have been brought up in parts of the world where gun crime existed this does not mean that you can transfer your understanding of the situation over to thailand where it is well known that you can get shot for being in the wrong place at the wrong time because of whatever minor reason, sure this also exists in other parts of the world but we all know how quickly it can kick off here with practically no provocation

I guess this subject could mutate and go all sorts of directions...

[leftcross]

will you let him play with toy cars then?

just give the kid his weapons, let him pretend to blow your head off and that of his best friend and then tuck him up in bed and tell him a nice story.

it's called being normal. my dad built me a fort and i had hundreds of toy soldiers. i could tell you the names of all the major battles, troops and weapons by the time i was 10. all i ever wanted to be was a soldier.

if my dad had kept that from me he would have really messed me up (my dad was a fireman, not a soldier BTW).

if my son wants toy guns he can have them, if he wants colouring books and barbie dolls he can have them. if that is his style then up to him.

[Chang_paarp]

My son (6) has just started showing an interest in guns. We went to the Royal Show (State fair) a couple of weeks ago and he came back with enough guns to start a small war. (or to keep a Chinese plastics factory going for about 1 hour)

Funny he is more interested in finding out how google earth works than playing with the guns this week. Showed him Wikipeadia today and he was fascinated. The guns are still sitting on the lounge, will tidy them up and put them in the toy basket next week where they will gather dust until he decides he wants to give them another 15 minutes in a while.

It is a phase, some last longer than others. Hopefully he will grow up to be an intelligent thinking adult.

[meemiathai]

meemiathai, I'm a young father, I come from the UK where parents really are quite careful about what their children play with, my friends son has never had a toy gun, not because he wasn't allowed one but because he didn't desire one, he had lots of toys but no need for a toy gun.

I didn't really want to go down this road but, Thailand is different, guns are accepted, toy guns are not even thought about, I don't mean to say that my boy will be running around with a real gun because he played with toy guns, my concern is much further reaching, much more widely spread, Thai society accepts guns(until a member of the family gets killed..perhaps) they are toys for the adults and are used like toys IMO, just read some stories about gun crime, real stories, and it is clear to see that guns are a part of life here, they are not a part of life in the UK, partly because we don't allow them to be and partly because we don't tolerate them, perhaps never have tolerated them and so have never had to eradicate them from our society.

Rant over, I hope I'm being understood

Dear Nikkijah, you are being understood. No offense meant from my post. Your views are being respected.

It is just that I can't see playing with toy guns or swords have anything to do with what one becomes when one grows up. It is a stage which one will inevitably pass through.

I used to like toy guns and swords too. But we did not have the money to buy. We stole. We, a group of 8-12 yr old kids get out to steal things everyday for fun. Bully people. On occassion, we even robbed younger kids. All that stopped for me after the age of about 12 naturally. Nowadays I am not even interested to even having a look at a real gun.

Hope you can relax a bit. Just my impression that you are overly worried. Just be an honest father and tell him what/why you think is right or wrong and see how he absorbs and let him choose his life. He might have his own views.

I don't have kids though. So I might be over-estimating my understanding, I supposed. I really don't know. I'll wait and see when I have kids.

[enuff said]

.

You can't hide things from kids. Guns, sex, hard drugs, violence, cigarettes, alchohol, porno, anything. Unless you live in a cave or on an island somewhere completely cut off from the world.

It does no good to be in denial about the bad things in the world. Sooner or later your child will have to deal with them. It is up to parents to instill the knowledge, morals, and strength of character that is needed to make the right decisions about these things.

Pretending these things don't exist is not the way to do it.

'nuff said

~

[Douggie Style]

Great topic, as a parent instructive, and a source of free psychotherapy… reminiscing on all those horrible things we did.

Anyways, assuming the main point is to avoid your child becoming violent later, thinking back the toys and gadgets didn’t have much effect on us (we used everything up to real bows and arrows) and actually was a very creative, exciting experience but the violent movies and TV shows absolutely did....

[meemiathai]

Anyways, assuming the main point is to avoid your child becoming violent later, thinking back the toys and gadgets didn’t have much effect on us (we used everything up to real bows and arrows) and actually was a very creative, exciting experience but the violent movies and TV shows absolutely did....

I find this post contradicting its own self. Sorry for the critism by the way. Why is it those toys not have much effect on us and the violent movies have? Aren't they more or less the same? Kids should grow up to or be led to understand gradually that those things are fiction and not to be inmitaed in my opinion. My point is: why hide anything?

What we should give them is the ability to analysis. And this is done by listening to what they think about the things they see and through discussions.

[Noel]

Hmmm, judging from some of the above posts it seems we are getting into banning Tom & Jerry cartoons, putting 'This product does not enable you to fly' warnings on Superman outfits and warning against drying your poodle in a microwave territory.

Dear oh dear...

[bina]

i was educated in a quaker high school and guess what?? many of the quaker teachers' kids played w/guns... oh, not real toy guns, but broom sticks with all sorts of additions on them, they didnt see tv but still would play boom boom your dead... but the parents took the time to educate them and now they are for the most part, pacifist quakers also

i live in israel; every other male and many many females have guns fo one sort or an other. it used to freak me out. a mentally ill teenager on the kibbutz got in to a room of a soldier (also same age) and found the soldier's gun, blew his brains out. (gun was in closet but kibbutz dont lock doors; the poor kid was put on trial also for negligence-- guns must be locked or on your person)

my daughter is now doing idf training; and she is a vegetarian, left wing etc etc, but not enough to be a concientious objector, agian in israel very very difficult to do. she never never never played any war games and takes her responsibility in handling a gun very very seriously.

my son never played with guns etc, although his father let him hold the machince gun from the army and was shown how to handle, check it, etc. wierdly enough, u dont see too many israeli kids playing with toy guns etc. maybe cause theya re exposed to it daily and are aware of the consequences. every once in a while some soldier lets his lttle brother play with a gun, there is a bullet left it, nad then there are the sad consequences which most families discuss afterwards endlessly.

just thought this was an interesting take on the perpetual question of: is human nature violent by instinct or is it a taught action (kids all around the world play territory/war/kill the enemy games)

bina

israel

[meemiathai]

I think there is a violent instinct in every person. Afterall, we are all just animals! Same lions, tigers. It depends on what environment we are in and how well taught/trained we are to control our tempers and emotions. Different people different capability though.

[Goldenbead]

I used to play with guns, bow & arrows, catapults and I grew up to be a big fairy.

That cracked me up.

Back to the OP. I have three boys. I started off by saying I would never buy war toys, particularly guns for them to play with. That said, they love water pistols, a must for Songkran and they do make swords out of pieces of wood, PVC whatever.

Hubby has a pellet gun and from time to time, he plays target practice with the boys. The rules are strict, shooting range set up, no pointing the gun at anyone etc. They respect these rules. They are not violent kids at all, in fact IMHO they are pretty gentle and calm.

Allow your son to play with what he likes but make sure that certain rules are followed, such as not pointing a toy gun at someone. It is a case of teaching them a bit of respect. Enjoy reliving your childhood with him.

[Nikkijah]

Hmmm, judging from some of the above posts it seems we are getting into banning Tom & Jerry cartoons, putting 'This product does not enable you to fly' warnings on Superman outfits and warning against drying your poodle in a microwave territory.

Dear oh dear...

I know this is how it seems but I guess I'm just thinking bigger than parental paranoia

Allow your son to play with what he likes but make sure that certain rules are followed, such as not pointing a toy gun at someone. It is a case of teaching them a bit of respect. Enjoy reliving your childhood with him

My son is 19 months old and his main joy with these guns that people buy him is pointing them at us and shouting 'BUNG BUNG!' at us repeatedly, it's quite funny actually, I know we shouldn't laugh but as all parents know it is very hard NOT to laugh at your children Soon we will have to start telling him not to point the gun at us but right know HE IS THE BOSS

I've taken everything on board which has been posted in response to my original post and I think the guns can stay my partner thinks they're ok so I'm out-voted

[Douggie Style]

Anyways, assuming the main point is to avoid your child becoming violent later, thinking back the toys and gadgets didn’t have much effect on us (we used everything up to real bows and arrows) and actually was a very creative, exciting experience but the violent movies and TV shows absolutely did....

I find this post contradicting its own self. Sorry for the critism by the way. Why is it those toys not have much effect on us and the violent movies have? Aren't they more or less the same? Kids should grow up to or be led to understand gradually that those things are fiction and not to be inmitaed in my opinion. My point is: why hide anything?

What we should give them is the ability to analysis. And this is done by listening to what they think about the things they see and through discussions.

no worries, fire away, at least you didn't threaten me!

I like your 'Kids should grow up to or be led to understand gradually that those things are fiction and not to be inmitaed in my opinion.'.

to be honest I am quite open on the subject as not sure either way if playing with guns does lead to violent tendencies, the comments above are just what I can remember from my own point of reference, so convince me!

BTW do you think it depends more on the context & kid involved than guns per se?

[meemiathai]

I used to play with guns, bow & arrows, catapults and I grew up to be a big fairy.

That cracked me up.

Back to the OP. I have three boys. I started off by saying I would never buy war toys, particularly guns for them to play with. That said, they love water pistols, a must for Songkran and they do make swords out of pieces of wood, PVC whatever.

Hubby has a pellet gun and from time to time, he plays target practice with the boys. The rules are strict, shooting range set up, no pointing the gun at anyone etc. They respect these rules. They are not violent kids at all, in fact IMHO they are pretty gentle and calm.

Allow your son to play with what he likes but make sure that certain rules are followed, such as not pointing a toy gun at someone. It is a case of teaching them a bit of respect. Enjoy reliving your childhood with him.

But why can't the gun be pointed at anyone, mum?

[meemiathai]

BTW do you think it depends more on the context & kid involved than guns per se?

Honestly, I don't understand the question.(not a native english speaker)

Looked into the dictionary for the word "context" and still can't understand exactly what it means.(how embarrassing)

And can't even find the meaning for "per se".

[Donz]

Let kids be kids. If you take there guns away from them then all your neighbours kids will be shooting him with there toy guns. Then your kid will be the only kid running around with a stick as a gun while his mates have all the cool ones.

[meemiathai]

Let kids be kids. If you take there guns away from them then all your neighbours kids will be shooting him with there toy guns. Then your kid will be the only kid running around with a stick as a gun while his mates have all the cool ones.

[Nikkijah]

Let kids be kids. If you take there guns away from them then all your neighbours kids will be shooting him with there toy guns. Then your kid will be the only kid running around with a stick as a gun while his mates have all the cool ones.

True Donz

except that the other kids ARE running around with sticks